The line on Teddy Thompson is that he's just too fantastic for his own good. Too gifted a writer, too compelling a singer, too handsome a man. And too insistently artistic to release a CD of songs that kids want to buy.

As a showman, Peter Wolf is right up there with Mick Jagger and James Brown. He doesn't put out a batch of unrelated songs, he makes what used to be called "albums," and they take you on a carefully sequenced adventure.

For me, the holidays are the idea time for unexpected gifts -- music that defines a moment, a season, a time in your life. Music that makes you listen, forces you to feel and think, inspires you to dance and dream.